Please can I ask your thoughts on a little problem that I have?
It's about boundaries near my house really, I'll try and keep it as brief as possible but it is a bit complicated and I may have to get legal advice. Not looking for free advice just thoughts please.
I have lived in my home for about 30 years. I have one neighbour whom I get on with pretty well.
I own the land which we both drive down to get out onto a main road and my neighbour should (according to deeds) pay 2/3rds the cost of maintenance for going over the drive in his car. I don't ask for that just half every few years.
Over the years my neighbour's family has grown and so has the amount of cars and vans that come and go causing quite a lot of wear and tear to the drive. Not only that, visitors reverse into my drive and there is a fair bit of traffic most days. I live on my own and it is a bit annoying. For the sake of 'getting along' I put up with it. The traffic caused by my neighbour is basically down the ease of access into and out of their property. They have two entrances into the drive so there is a lot of jiggery pokery that goes on so that they can get their two vans and 4 cars out every morning and evening. The drive is right in front of my house.
Now is here the tricky bit.
When I moved in there were two separate pieces of land next to my house owned by a previous neighbour and it was decided by an original owner that the access and entrance should be the one nearest to me. The owner wanted to build a bungalow on the land opposite him but couldn't get planning permission because of the narrowness of the drive. The land was then joined together but the two accesses stayed and the neighbour built a wall and pillars and created a sort of sweeping driveway.
At the time I was bringing three kids and going through a divorce and hadn't the strength or will to deal with the issues, not only that the neighbour was threatening legal action because I refused to widen the drive for him so he could build the bungalow. He moved away and then my current neighbours moved in with young kids . They've grown and acquired boyfriends with vans and cars and the family have a car each and another van.
The first access was built by the original neighbours juts into my land, well the land that he has a right of way over. I've only discovered this when I got plans from the land registry. It only goes in about 3 or four foot but it looks like its on my land. So there is a fence running along the edge of the driveway which leads to a brick pier from which a gate is hung.
The other access stays open all of the time because the gate is swung back all of the time as is the other access with a gate swung back. I asked my neighbours to move the gates back so that I could maintain the drive and they charged me £30.00 to do it as the gates had to be pinned back.
I must admit I am a bit of a pushover as I just want an easy life but the constant traffic is a bit annoying as well as the fact that my neighbours sneakily reverse in my drive when they think I'm not looking!
Anyway, I want to build a wall across the front of my house for privacy, noise reduction and to stop every tom, dick and harry reversing into my drive but I am not sure where my boundary is, hence getting the deeds to my property (and my neighbours) which has opened up a can of worms!
What I am asking is would you ask your neighbour:
1). To get rid of the brick pillar which looks like it's on my land? It wouldn't make any difference to them as they still have access to the drive but wouldn't have the pillar any more to hand their gate off which they don't use as the access is open all of the time.
2). Ask them to close off the other access as my deeds show that there is an agreement for only one access near the pillar and my house. This second access abuts to the driveway and is part of the boundary but I am not sure who owns the boundary because of the issue of the two plots of land being joined years ago.
I suppose, if I am honest I trying to find a way of stopping the traffic coming from neighbours but trying to close one access and thus stopping them having the sweeping circle into a very tight driveway that I own and am responsible for.
I don't think it will do any good to speak to my neighbours as past experience tells me that they tend to as they as please, especially as there is only little ole me to deal with!
So, the first access near to me has a brick pillar built a few years ago which looks like its on my land if the boundary is correct going down the side of my house. The second access should not be there according to my deeds but I am not sure whose boundary it is.
This could be a job for a solicitor but I just thought I run it past you just to get some views or ideas on the way forward.
I am quite happy to speak to my neighbours but frankly, I can't see them agreeing to any changes because I have been too soft in the past. But I am the one dealing with the constant door slamming at 7 am in the morning, taxis late at night, vans and cars going up and down the drive...its a nightmare.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.